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PDir format question...

May
855
0
I am trying to do something where I have done similar things many times in the past re. the PDir command. Specifically, I am trying to call a function from within a function, and this time around I can't get it to work and I don't know what I am doing wrong. So as a slightly made-up example that perfectly illustrates the problem I am having:
Code:
[Z:\Compression Stuff]Function WW=`%1`

[Z:\Compression Stuff]PDir *.txt /Ou /(WW[@FileSize[*]/@Lines[*]] fpn)
WW[49926/481] Z:\Compression Stuff\Analyzed Z-Drive Compression Statistics For Comp
ressed Files.txt
WW[103111/1002] Z:\Compression Stuff\Analyzed Z-Drive Compression Statistics.txt
WW[109110/1002] Z:\Compression Stuff\Analyzed Z-Drive Compression StatisticsIII.txt
WW[52797/480] Z:\Compression Stuff\Compressed Z-Drive Files .txt
WW[95177/1455] Z:\Compression Stuff\Compression Report Stage 1.txt
WW[95177/1455] Z:\Compression Stuff\Compression Report Stage 2.txt
WW[2069/56] Z:\Compression Stuff\ExtractDateTime .btm Subroutine.txt
WW[180/0] Z:\Compression Stuff\Raw PDir Compression Report.txt
WW[56311/520] Z:\Compression Stuff\Uncompressable Z-Drive Files.txt
which works as one would expect but does nothing useful.

So modifying it a bit to come closer to what I am actually trying to accomplish:
Code:
[Z:\Compression Stuff]PDir *.txt /Ou /(@WW[%%@FileSize[*]/%%@Lines[*]] fpn)
TCC: (Sys) The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.
 "%@Lines[*]"
From everything I know/have done/remember, this should work (no percent sign on the outer function, duplicating the percent signs on the inner functions).

What am I missing/doing wrong?

- Dan
 
Important update to the above. It is strictly related to the "@Lines" function; "/(@WW[%%@FileSize[*]/%%@FileSize[*]]" is silly, but works perfectly (doing nothing useful).
 
It won't work in either case -- you cannot repeat nested '*' substitution in a single function. PDIR will do the first substitution embedded in the @WW argument and pass the remainder as-is.

(It only *appeared* to work with the "@WW[%%@FileSize[*]/%%@FileSize[*]" syntax because @FILESIZE will accept wildcard arguments and @LINES will not.)
 
Thank you for the explanation, Rexx. That's why I was able to get it to work when I replaced the @WW function definition by function that @ExecStr'd a .btm file that did a few other related things that I also wanted to do while it was at it. And from experimenting a little bit it seems that a function "AvgLineLength" defined as `%@Eval[%@FileSize[%1]/%@If[%@FileSize[%1] == 0,1,%@Lin
es[%1]],=1.1]` almost works but because both the "true" and the "false" side of an "@If" are always evaluated and there are, in fact, 0-length files the .btm file with an actual "Iff" statement is the only way I could accomplish that, anyway. I do think that you should make a note that multiple asterisks in the arguments to a single function that is being invoked by PDir is not suppored in the documentation, however, since I really wouldn't call it "expected" behavior (although it's not that unexpected, either!).

As far as the WW function goes, it really doesn't matter but I no longer remember what its original purpose was. No real surprise there, I think...
 

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